Poison Prevention Week

National Poison Prevention Week

National Poison Prevention Week was endorsed by the United States congress in 1961 and was designated to take place annually, during the third full week of March. In the early 1980s, Poison Centres across Canada also began to promote Poison Prevention Week during this same week.

Canadian poison centres continue to promote Poison Prevention Week through a variety of activities. Each year, they work closely with media representatives, as well as community partners such as Safe Kids Canada and Health Canada to promote poison safety messages.

National Poison Prevention Week 2016

National Poison Prevention Week begins on March 20, 2016. This year, OPC will focus on promoting poison prevention awareness for older adults in the community. Each year, OPC receives more than 8,000 calls about adults aged 60 and over. Of the top 10 substances we receive calls about in this age group, eight out of ten substances are medications.

Visit our Common Poisons page to learn more about the top 10 poisonous substances for older adults.

We encourage you to engage with us on social media during this awareness week. Follow OPC on Twitter @ON_Poison and join the National Poison Prevention Week conversation using the hashtag #NPPW16.

Special Lightings for Poison Prevention Week

In honour of National Poison Prevention Week 2016 (March 20 - 26) landmarks across the province will be lighting up in our signature chartreuse colour, which we fondly refer to as 'poison green'.

Everyone is invited to join in the action by snapping a selfie with one of the landmarks and sharing the image on Twitter tagging @ON_Poison and #NPPW16. Your efforts will be rewarded with some useful poison prevention materials ('swag pack'). Click here for more information.

The dates and the times of the landmark lightings are as follows:

CN Tower: Mon. March 21, all evening (beginning at sundown.) (Please note: the CN Tower's regular light show runs for about 8 minutes at the top of each hour - you must take your picture while the tower is lit in poison green to be eligible to win!)

Call us at 1-800-268-9017

The Ontario Poison Centre / Centre antipoison de l'Ontario (OPC / CAPO) is operated and supported by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto.Please note: Some of the content photography on this website is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the content is a model.